


Broken Mirrors

by bees_and_arrows



Series: Dragon Age [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-26
Packaged: 2018-11-19 08:09:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11309274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bees_and_arrows/pseuds/bees_and_arrows





	1. Shattered

The life of a Dalish elf was not one of comfort. Wandering with no true home, gathering what food they could find and hunting the rest. However, the prey they hunted was not always local wildlife. Pandora stood straight, bow pulled taut as she waited for her prey to come to her. The first of the humans to come out from the bushes fell back onto the ground, stopping the two behind him in their tracks.

“It’s a dalish!” The third human cried. Pandora chuckled to herself.

_Shems. Always so quick to state the obvious._

“Get out of our way, knife-ear!” The second shouted as the first picked himself up off the ground.

“I wouldn’t call her that if I were you.” growled Tamlen, who stepped out of the foliage to stand next to Pandora, arrow trained on the humans.

“W-We aint done nothin’ to you Dalish, honest!” The first human stuttered, “We didn’t know this was your forest!”

“Fool.” Tamlen hissed. Pandora tapped his foot with hers and shot him a sideways look. “This forest does not belong to us.” He continued, calmer, “You’ve stumbled too close to our camp.” Pandora tilted her head at the three of them as Tamlen continued, “You’re not very good bandits, you know.”

“We’re not bandits!” The third stuttered out quickly, “W-we found some ruins in a cave and thought there might be--”

“Treasure?” Tamlen finished for him, “So you’re more akin to thieves than bandits?”

_Ruins?_ Pandora thought to herself, _There’s no cave with ruins in these forests._ She turned and gave Tamlen a look, relaying her concerns.

“We know this forest,” Tamlen said, “There’s no ruins in any caves.”

“We’re not lying!” The first said, digging in his back pocket. He produced a small stone and held it out, “We found this inside!”

Tamlen hesitated, then quivered his arrow and cautiously took the stone from the man. He turned it over in his hand, his face knotted in confusion. “Is this elvish? _Written_ elvish?”

“Th-there’s more in the cave,” The human continued, “We would’ve made it farther in but there was this huge demon!”

“A demon?” Tamlen scoffed, turning to Pandora, “So, what do you think, lethallan? Do you believe them?”

Pandora stilled for a moment, keeping her gaze locked on the humans. Then, she relaxed, and quivered her arrow and holstered her bow. She nodded gently to them and gave Tamlen a small smile. He sighed, turning back to the humans.

“You may go,” He told them, “But if we find you wandering too close to our camp ever again-”

“You won’t!” One of them shouted as they ran away.

_Probably pissed their sodding pants._ Pandora thought to herself with a smirk.

“You’re too kind to those shems.” Tamlen told her, starting down the path the humans had come from, “Come on then, let’s see if there’s any truth to their story, shall we?”

Pandora frowned as he continued on, picking up a small stick and throwing it at him. It smacked him just on the top of his head and he flinched and turned to look at her. She nodded sharply over her shoulder, back towards their camp.

“We can tell the Keeper once we figure out if they were even telling the truth.” He waved her off, turning back to the path, “Now come on, you’re not going to let me go all by myself straight into the lair of some horrifying demon, are you?”He laughed and Pandora frowned harder, waiting a moment before continuing after him.

_What. An. Ass._

“Decided you wouldn’t let me get eaten after all?” He teased as she caught up to him. She ran her shoulder into his and smiled lightly.

The cave wasn’t far, and the path was mostly silent aside from a small pack of wolves who’d slain a halla. But as soon as Pandora saw the cave she knew something wasn’t right. For starters, this cave had most definitely not been there before, and the energy radiating from it was… wrong, for lack of a better word. She stopped just short of the entrance to the cave, while Tamlen continued on a few paces before looking back at her.

“You’re not scared, are you?” He asked, a laugh lingering on his lips. When she did not reply and continued to stare into the cave past him, his joking demeanor vanished. “Pandora?” She flinched slightly and looked at him, pursing her lips into a thin line. He sighed, “We’re already here, Pandora, we may as well take a look before we tell the Keeper about it so we know if it’s worth making a fuss over.”

She inched down the incline after him into the cave. She waded into the sickness of the cave like the shallows of an open ocean, cautiously so that she would not slip and fall into the unending abyss. Tamlen was much more confident when entering the cave, but he too became much more careful as they approached the ruins.

“It… looks like the shems were telling the truth.” He muttered, “But these ruins look more human than elven.”

Pandora nodded in agreement, pulling her bow off and notching an arrow. The ruins were covered in giant spider webs, they were bound to run into the crawlers. Hardly surprising, it seemed impossible to throw a rock in Ferelden without hitting one. And as if they could read her mind, three of them descended from their hidings in the ceiling. Pandora launched an arrow into the eyes of the closest one to her, loading another and hitting it again. The second arrow plunged deeper, making it drop dead to the floor.

“Pandora!” Tamlen shouted, diving between her and the second spider that had launched itself at her back. He used his bow as a shield and shoved it back, pulling an arrow from his quiver and driving it deep into its head, killing it instantly. He loaded another arrow to shoot at the final one but found Pandora already standing over it’s dead body. Her shoulder was bleeding though, and she winced as she tended to it and turned back around. She raised her eyebrows at his concern and shrugged with her good shoulder. It was nothing she couldn’t handle.She nodded towards the doorway to the next room and they continued on with only a few other squabbles with the arachnids. But when they seemed to be almost to the main room of the ruins, Tamlen stopped.

“I can’t believe this.” He said, staring at a statue next to the wall, “You recognize this statue, don’t you? Back in the days of Arlathan, statues like these honored the creators,” he continued as Pandora joined him and looked it over, “When the shems enslaved us, much of that lore was lost. This looks like human architecture,” he looked over to Pandora, exchanging glances with her, “but with a statue of our people. Could these ruins date back to Arlathan?”

Pandora shook her head lightly. They were nowhere near Arlathan, and elves never lived underground in caves. Tamlen understood from the look on her face, as usual.

“Our people lived other places than Arlathan.” He told her, “Even if elves didn’t live here, it’s architectes knew of our gods.”

Pandora frowned a bit, looking over the statue one last time before continuing onward into the ruins. They definitely should have told the Keeper before they came here, this statute only confirmed that. Who knew what lost history could be found in these ruins, what questions could be-

Poison gas exploded into Pandora’s face as she walked towards the next door in the hallway, and she stumbled back coughing as the gas turned the air around her and Tamlen green. Pandora waved the last of the gas from her face as she backed out from the cloud, coughing up what remained in her lungs. A sword swung down in front of her face as she realized what had also happened when the trap triggered - the dead bodies on the ground certainly did not rest peacefully anymore.

She pulled an arrow from her quiver and plunged it deep into the corpse that attacked her, yanking it back out as it fell dead to the floor to load it into her bow and shoot it into the one that was heading for Tamlen. He had already finished off the other corpses, which Pandora only now noticed as the gas cleared from the air.

_Well hopefully that’s as bad as it gets in here._ She thought to herself as she opened the next door, only to be greeted with the monstrous roar of a bear- or what used to be a bear. Fur had fallen off its skin where spines now protruded from the rotting flesh. _Fenedhis_.

She barely managed to get out of the way as it charged through the door, though Tamlen was not so lucky and it slammed directly into him, tossing him into the wall. Pandora loaded two arrows into her bow as it turned to face her now, taking aim for its face. One arrow simply bounced off, but another found a squishy, fleshy part exposed on its hide just under the ear and lodged itself deep. The monster gave a roar of agony and charged her again, slashing at her arm as she very narrowly evaded its claws. A seer of red hot pain shot up her arm as blood began to run from her wound, making it too difficult to shoot with her bow now. She wouldn’t be able to put enough force into her shots while in this much pain, it felt like the claws had been barbed to rip flesh even deeper and rougher to cause more suffering.

Tamlen picked himself up and fired what arrows he could at the beast, but they simply bounced off as it turned back to face them and stalked towards them menacingly with a growl. Pandora dropped her bow and picked up the sword of one of the fallen corpses with her good hand, then charged the monster as it rushed at them. She ducked to the ground, sliding under the beast as it swiped at her, and slashed open its throat. When it fell to the floor she drove the blade deep into its head, making sure it stayed dead.  
Pandora knelt there a moment, leaning on the sword and breathing heavily to calm the adrenaline rushing through her yet. Tamlen picked up her bow and rested it on the ground next to her before sitting down and resting a moment himself. Then, he began to laugh. Pandora’s shoulders shook with the same laughter, despite there not being a sound as there was for Tamlen. She let go of the sword and sat back on her haunches, raising her hands to sign, _‘That was the craziest thing we’ve ever fought!’_

Tamlen calmed down a bit and nodded in agreement, “I think it’s probably the craziest thing we’ll ever fight. Well, together at least. Creators know you find your way into far more insane situations than I do!”

Pandora frowned deeply but couldn’t help it as her mouth cracked back into a smile. She picked up her bow and placed it back in it’s place as she stood. She helped Tamlen to his feet as well and the two stepped carefully around the corpse of the dead beast and into the next room of the ruins.

There, placed upon a platform in the center of the room, stood a mirror. It was old and dingy and no longer reflected the room around it. Pandora was hesitant to walk right up to it, but Tamlen, either brave or foolhardy, strode right up to gaze into it. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” He said, examining the borders, “I wonder what this writing says. Odd that it isn’t broken like everything else in here, especially with that bear lumbering about in here.”

Pandora held tight to her bowstring as it hung across her chest, this whole room felt as though she was standing neck deep in wrong. As if she was straying too close to the edge of deep dark waters, waters that almost called to her.

“I wonder what this writing is for,” Tamlen continued to wonder aloud, “Maybe this isn’t-- Hey, did you see that?” He bumped Pandora on the arm, “I think something moved inside the mirror.”

She grabbed hold of his sleeve and tugged gently, signaling to him that maybe they should leave.

“Hold on, I just want to know what it was.” He shrugged her off, moving slightly closer to the glass, “Don’t you see it? There it is again! Can you feel that?” Tamlen turned and looked at her, “I think it knows we’re here. I just need to take a closer look.” He rested his hand on the glass, his curiosity getting the better of him. “It’s… showing me places. I can see… some kind of city… underground?” Ripples spread across the glass as he lightly brushed his fingers over it, “And… there’s a great blackness… It… It saw me! Help!” He screamed, “I can’t look away!”

Pandora reached out to pull him away from the mirror, but it exploded into a brilliant light as she did, sending her flying across the room.

She had strayed too far, too deep into the waters, and all at once she fell into the black.


	2. Drowning

_“Can you hear me? I am… very sorry.”_

* * *

 

Pandora awoke quite dizzily, but as her vision cleared she began to recognize her surroundings. She was in the Keeper’s aravel, a place most people would recommend frequently waking up in. Someone waking up in her aravel meant she had had to heal them, and if the Keeper had to heal someone, they had been very close to death indeed. Sadly this wasn’t the first time Pandora had woken up here. She found her footing and stepped out of the land ship onto solid earth, squinting a bit in the bright sun light.

“You’re awake!” A voice called her attention as she readjusted to her surroundings. Fenarel approached her, smiling gently, “You’ve the god’s own luck, lethallan! You’re back at camp, how do you feel? Everyone is worried about you!”

Pandora waved her hand at him, prompting him to slow down. _‘I feel fine,’_ she signed, _‘How did I get back to camp?’_

“A shem brought you back two days ago,” He explained, “You don’t remember him?”

Her eyes widened with shock as she realized what he had just said. Two days? She’d been out for two _days?!_

“He was a Grey Warden,” Fenarel continued, “and appeared out of nowhere with a couple of flat ears and you slung over his shoulder. You were delirious with fever. He said he found you outside a cave in the forest, unconscious and alone. He left you here and ran off again. The Keeper has been using the old magic to heal you.”

_‘Where’s Tamlen?!’_ Pandora signed frantically, _‘Is anyone looking for him?!’_

“Of course,” He replied, setting a hand on her shoulder to calm her, “Most of the hunters are off looking for him right now. But the Keeper wanted to speak to you as soon as you awoke. Stay here-- I’ll get her.”

Pandora leaned against the aravel, breathing heavy. Two days. She’d been unconscious for two days and for who knows how long before the Warden found her. And they still hadn’t found Tamlen. He’d been one of her closest friends since birth, she hardly ever even needed to sign around him like most of the clan.

“I see you are awake, da’len.” The Keeper said as she approached Pandora, “It is fortunate that Duncan found you when he did… I know not what dark power held you, but it nearly bled the life from you. It was difficult for even my magic to keep you alive. You worried the clan coming so close to death again.”

Pandora’s shoulders dropped a bit as she looked with worry at the Keeper. If she had been so sick, Tamlen could be as well. And he could be sick as well, and if they had not found him yet...

“If Tamlen encountered the same thing you did, I fear he most certainly will be sick as well.” The Keeper said, sensing Pandora’s fears, “The Grey Warden said he found you alone outside a cave, already stricken. Duncan thought there may have been darkspawn creatures inside the cave, is that true?”

Pandora thought for a moment. They had encountered undead and a strange bear creature, but she was fairly certain neither of those were darkspawn, at least from what she’d heard of the beasts. She slowly shook her head, uncertain but feeling it was safe to say that there was not.

“It’s possible you fought one and did not realize, and if you did it may have wounded you.” The Keeper replied, “What did you find in the cave? What is the last thing you remember?”

_‘A… A mirror.’_ Pandora’s hand movements were slow as she thought hard, but things were still a bit fuzzy, _‘Tamlen touched it.’_

“A mirror? And it caused all this?” The Keeper folded her arms in puzzlement, “I have never heard of such a thing in all the lore we have collected.” She sighed, unfolding her arms and taking a few steps away, “I was hoping for answers when you woke but there are only more questions. And Tamlen remains missing. He is more important than any lore in these ruins. If he is as sick as you were, his condition is grave. Duncan returned to the cave to search for darkspawn, but we cannot rely on him to look for Tamlen as well.” She turned back to Pandora, “We must go ourselves, and quickly. Do you feel well enough to show us the way, da’len? Without you, we will not find it.”

Pandora nodded sharply, standing straight and confident now. If it meant finding Tamlen she would go, without hesitation, sick or not. She wasn’t going to let her closest friends be left behind so easily.

“I am relieved to hear it.” The Keeper smiled, “I am ordering the clan to pack the camp so we can go north. Take Merrill with you to the cave. Find Tamlen if you can, but do it swiftly.” She walked away again, likely to help the clan pack for the trip, leaving Pandora alone with her worry.

“The Keeper’s really sending you back to look for Tamlen?” Fenarel asked, approaching Pandora again.

She raised an eyebrow at him and signed, _‘Were you eavesdropping?’_

“Look, I wanna go with you. Keeper Marethari probably won’t approve, but I can help find Tamlen.”

_‘It’s too dangerous, Fenarel. Did you see how sick I was?’_

“Tamlen’s my friend too!” He frowned, “I want to help find him! If Merrill can risk it, so can I.”

Panora sighed, thinking about it a moment. _‘We’ll ask the Keeper.’_ She signed, _‘If she allows it, you can come.’_

“Then we’ll do that.” He laid a hand on her shoulder as they started walking off to go find her, “She can’t say no to both of us!”

* * *

 

After running back and forth across camp to convince the Keeper to allow Fenarel to come along and a few arguments with Merrill on the topic, Pandora had finally left the camp to lead her group back to the cave. She was fairly frustrated with the both of them right now, but it was the same thing she’d been putting up with since childhood. The three of them and Tamlen had grown up thicker than thieves, they were practically siblings. She wanted to yell at them, tell them to stop their arguing and focus on getting Tamlen back. But not only was attempting to do so through sign much less effective, it took a lot longer as well. Besides, she needed to save her energy, who knew what was lurking in the forest with that sickness unleashed.

“Are we getting close?” Merrill asked as they came upon the clearing where Pandora and Tamlen had run off the humans. Pandora nodded, waving for them to follow her.

“Too late for me go back now, huh?” Fenarel jabbed at Merrill, prompting Pandora to turn around and smack him lightly on the arm. She frowned at him and folded her arms over her chest. He shrunk back a little with a sheepish smile, like a child who had been caught getting in the cookie jar before dinner. “Sorry...”

“I’m sorry too.” Merrill added, “We should be focusing on finding Tamlen. I guess it can’t hurt to have another pair of eyes.”

Pandora’s frown faded into a light smile and she turned to lead them back down the path.

“Wait- Watch out!” Fenarel shouted, grabbing hold of Pandora’s arm and pulling her back as an arrow whistled through the air where her head had been. They landed on the ground, Pandora in Fenarel’s lap, as Merrill armed herself with her staff and shot return fire at their attacker. Pandora scrambled to her feet, pulling out her bow and loading an arrow before taking aim. What she had not anticipated, however, was who their attacker was - or rather what it was.

It was almost a man, or almost a dwarf perhaps, but twisted and dark. It was monstrous, hideous, and radiated pure evil. She launched an arrow into its head and it struck deep. It fell to the ground dead, proving despite as vile and sinful as they appeared, they were mortal like anything else. Merrill killed a second monster that was heading their way with a blast of frost, leaving them again alone in the forest.

“What were those things?!” Merrill asked, “I’ve never seen anything like them.”

Pandora replaced her bow at her back, thinking for a moment. _‘Darkspawn.’_ She signed to her companions, _‘The Keeper mentioned darkspawn.’_

“Darkspawn?” Fenarel repeated, “I thought they only came to the surface during a Blight?”

“I thought so too.” Merrill added, looking over to Pandora, “Regardless we should keep going. First though, Pandora, were you hurt in the fight? You look awfully pale.”

“Now that she mentions it,” Fenarel raised an eyebrow in concern at the redhead, “Are you alright? Are you feeling sick again?”

Pandora waved their questions off. She was fine. Mostly. She could feel her illness spreading in her chest, almost as if it was reacting to the darkspawn they had fought. But she could fight through it well enough, it wasn’t as if she was going to collapse on the spot. She turned and began walking again, feeling her companions’ concerned gazes on her back. She would be fine, but Tamlen wouldn’t be if they did not find him. A little ways farther down the path they came across a campfire, one Pandora didn’t recognize as having been there before.

Merrill crouched down next to it. “It’s still warm,” She said, holding a hand just above the embers, “Perhaps it belongs to the Grey Warden the Keeper mentioned? Wait-” She stopped all movement suddenly, narrowing her eyes at the trees, “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what..?” Fenarel asked after a moment of complete silence.

“Exactly.” Merrill replied, standing back up, “It’s _too_ quiet.”

She was right, Pandora realized, there wasn’t a single noise in the forest around them. No birds singing, not a single animal rustling through the foliage around them, nothing. It was dead quiet. Pandora turned, her eyes landing on the entrance to the cave. A chill ran up her spine, making every hair stand on end. She drew herself up and strode into the cave, knowing the feeling of its atmosphere had already flooded into every crevice of her being. There was no hiding from it now, it knew her as a part of itself. Fenarel and Merrill entered the cave much more cautiously than she did, as they were still unfamiliar with the feeling.

“So these are the ruins?” Merrill asked as they walked, “Interesting. They’re definitely of human origin. Yet elven artifacts are scattered amongst them. Nothing explains the monsters though. But we must find Tamlen - or what’s left of him. I can’t imagine he’s still alive with these creatures about.”

“Don’t say things like that!” Fenarel snapped at her, “Tamlen’s a talented fighter, he can hold his own.”

“You’re right, we should explore farther before I go on about my fears. I’m sorry.” She nodded with her apology, though it was less directed at Fenarel and more towards Pandora. She and Tamlen were much closer to each other than the others, one hardly ever went anywhere without the other.

The floor was strewn with dead corpses, of the spiders she and Tamlen had killed, and of more darkspawn - likely the prey of the Warden and his companions. Fenarel had mentioned he came into the camp with two flat ears - city elves. It was likely they were still with him, as she doubted one Warden could kill vanquish so many of the spawn. She’d never met a city elf before, she’d heard a bit about them though, how they live closed off from humans like animals in a cage. Most dalish didn’t consider them true elves.

However it seemed the Warden and his companions didn’t kill quite all of the cave’s new inhabitants. There was still a group of darkspawn wandering the ruins, and seeing as they were directly in front of the door to the mirror there was no avoiding them. Pandora took aim and fired, her arrow plunging deep into the throat of one of the beasts. It fell dead, but thus alerted the others to the presence of the elves. One of the darkspawn, who was much more decorated than the other, cast a spell at her. It tore into her arm as she tried to dodge, having not expected them to be able to cast magic.

“Pandora!” Fenarel shouted, readying a sword and shield and running in front of her to block a second magic bolt. Pandora readied another arrow, ignoring the pain in her arm to take aim over Fenarel’s shield to shoot at a second darkspawn that was charging them. Merrill blasted the emissary with a bolt of frost. It didn’t do much but slow it down, however it did distracted it long enough for Pandora to get a better aim at it. She mustered what strength she could to pull her string back even farther and fired. It pierced through the darkspawn’s armor and into its heart, dropping it dead.

“Nice shot.” Merrill smiled to her, walking up and gently taking her arm, “Here, let me heal this for you.” She placed her hand on Pandora’s wound and the warmth of her healing magic washed over it. Pandora signed a simple thank you to her and nodded towards the doorway.

Pandora lead the way into the room, and upon entering found herself face to face with three people she was not familiar with. Two were elves: one bald and sporting tattoos very similar to dalish vallaslin, and the second was a mess of black hair and, judging from his posture and facial expression, bad attitude. The third one in the room Pandora assumed to be the Grey Warden, Duncan. He was a battle hardened warrior, standing proud and sporting a ponytail and a full beard.

“So you were the ones fighting darkspawn.” He said, turning around to address them face to face, “I thought I heard combat.”

“And you didn’t think to help?” Fenarel asked.

“As you can see you were not the only ones fighting here.” Duncan told him, gesturing to the dead darkspawn on the ground around the mirror. He returned his gaze to Pandora and gave her an inquisitive look, “You’re the elf I found wandering the forest, aren’t you? Pandora? I am surprised you have recovered.”

_‘Thank you for saving me,’_ Pandora signed, then realized he probably couldn’t understand her gestures. She glanced quickly behind her to Merrill.

“Oh, she thanks you for saving her.” Merrill said quickly, picking up on Pandora’s problem.

“I see,” Duncan nodded, “You’re quite welcome. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. The last time I encountered you, you were barely conscious.”

“Andaran atish’an, Duncan of the Grey Wardens.” Merrill nodded her head in a slight bow, “I am Merrill, the Keeper’s apprentice.”

“And I am Fenarel,” Fenarel added, “Did the three of you really kill all these darkspawn?”

“Like it was even that hard.” The bald elf added with a chuckle. Pandora tilted her head to him and raised an eyebrow, hoping her question would be implied well enough.

“Name’s Ratner.” He replied with a charming smile, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. You were _fully_ unconscious by the time Duncan showed up with you.” He looked over to the other elf, “Are you going to introduce yourself or what?”

“Tabris.” He said, looking away from the group.

_Well aren’t you friendly._ Pandora thought to herself, frowning at him. He turned a little farther away, hunching his shoulders and twisting his mouth into an uncomfortable frown as though he had heard her thoughts.

“Your Keeper did not send you after me, did she?” Duncan asked, “I told her we would be in no danger.”

“We’re looking for our friend, Tamlen.” Merrill said, translating for Pandora as she signed.

“So you and your friend Tamlen both entered this cave?” He questioned, “And you saw this mirror?”

“You’ve found some trace of Tamlen?”

“No, nor do I think I will.” Duncan said gravely. “The Grey Wardens have seen artifacts like this mirror before, it is Tevinter in origin, used for communication. Over time, some of them simply… break. They become filled with the same taint as the darkspawn. Tamlen’s touch must have released it… It’s what made you sick-- and Tamlen, too, I presume.”

“Can we fix it?” Merrill asked.

“Unfortunately, no. It will taint all those who come near it now.” He explained.

“I do not fear this sickness.” She said confidently, “The Keeper knows how to cure it.”

“She may have weakened it,” Duncan said, turning his attention to Pandora, “But she cannot cure it. Your recovery is only temporary. I can sense the sickness in you, and it is spreading. Look inside yourself and you will see.”

Pandora’s eyes fell to the ground, knowing he was right. It was spreading through her chest and she could feel it.

“What should we do?” She signed, Merrill continuing to translate for her.

“First we deal with the mirror.” Duncan said, “It is a pestilence and a threat.” He turned and walked up to the mirror, drawing one of his blades. He readied it in both hands and brought it down hard onto the glass surface of the mirror, shattering it to pieces with a flash of light like when Tamlen had touched it. His mission accomplished, Duncan walked back to their group, replacing his blade at his back. “It is done. Now let’s leave this cursed place. I must speak with your Keeper immediately regarding your cure.”

“What about Tamlen?” Merrill asked, reading the look on Pandora’s face.

“There is nothing we can do.” Duncan stated.

“So he’s dead, then?” Fenarel asked, “Are you sure?”

“Let me be very clear: There is nothing you can do for him.” Duncan said, “He’s been tainted for three days now, unaided. Through your Keeper’s healing arts and your own willpower, you did not die. But Tamlen has no chance. Trust me when I say that he is gone. Now, we should return.”

“Wouldn’t there at least be a body?” Fenarel asked.

“Darkspawn would’ve taken it.” Tabris spoke up. He locked eyes with Pandora for a moment and looked away again just as quickly.

“Why would they take his body?” Fenarel grimaced, “Not to.. eat it, I hope…”

“Darkspawn are evil creatures, and it’s best to leave it at that.” Duncan frowned in sympathy, “I’m… sorry.”

“Can we just leave the cave like this?” Merrill asked, though Pandora did not hear Duncan’s reply nor the rest of the conversation.

Everything seemed to fade away as she stared at the shattered pieces of the mirror. Tamlen was really gone. It just didn’t seem real. She should be sad but there was just nothing. She felt numb, as though nothing existed to feel anymore. She was empty, replaced by the sickness in her chest as it spread to fill every corner of her body and her soul. But she felt a gaze on her and turned her eyes away from the mirror to see Tabris looking at her with concern, almost. They locked eyes once more, but he did not turn away like he had before. She gazed into his eyes, golden brown and deep with a suppressed warmth behind them.

She jumped as Fenarel’s hand grabbed her shoulder, breaking her of her trance. “Come on, we’re heading back now.” He said, his expression sad and full of concern. He kept his hand on her shoulder as they turned and left the room, following Duncan and Merrill out of the ruins. She looked back once at Tabris and Ratner as they followed, but when Tabris looked away from her again she turned back to stride ahead.


End file.
